This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, March 7, 2009 - Secretary of State Robin Carnahan made clear Saturday that while she didn't relish talking about her views on touchy social issues like guns, stem cell research and abortion -- she wasn't going to to shy away from the topics.
The Democrats' announced candidate for the U.S. Senate said she prefers to focus on the economy, jobs, education and health care, since she believes those are the issues that matter more to Missouri voters.
But that said, Carnahan ticked off her social-issue positions Saturday morning as she mingled with reporters and the public at the Quality Inn in Hannibal, where Democrats from around the state are gathering for this weekend's Democrat Days.
Her aim, in part, was to respond to repeated attacks from Republicans and other critics. "These guys, they just rehash the same old stuff over and over,'' Carnahan said.
On abortion: Carnahan called for more focus on the "common ground'' of reducing abortions by preventing unwanted pregnancies.
But that said, she added, "When the difficult decision comes, it should be made by a woman'' in consultation with "her family, her doctor and her clergy.''
On stem-cell research: "I'm a breast cancer survivor. I believe in research. I believe in science,'' Carnahan said. " I am not in favor in cloning and we have a constitutional amendment that bans cloning."
She was referring to Amendment 2, which narrowly passed in 2006 and which protects all forms of stem-cell research in Missouri that's allowed under federal law. Carnahan made clear that she was talking about legal forms of embryonic stem-cell research as well.
The amendment's critics are seeking to put a measure on the 2010 ballot -- when Carnahan also would be running for the Senate -- to ban some of the research procedures now allowed under Amendment 2. One such group, Missouri Roundtable for Life, has sued Carnahan over her office's wording of the group's proposed ballot measure.
On guns: Carnahan said she had no regrets about her involvement in the statewide 1999 ballot fight over a proposal to allow most Missourians to carry concealed weapons, a key reason why she is a favorite political target of some gun-rights groups.
Carnahan said that measure "would have allowed Uzzis in sports stadiums'' and was not the same as the concealed-carry law that the Legislature passed a few years later over the objections of then-Gov. Bob Holden.
"I'm not out to repeal anything,'' Carnahan said, referring to Missouri's current concealed-carry law. "I support the Second Amendment,''
She then pointedly added: "We have a number of guns in my house in Rolla, and I'm a pretty good shot."
Back in 2002, Carnahan's mother -- then U.S. Sen. Jean Carnahan, D-Mo. -- caused quite a stir when she went skeet shooting to counter Republican accusations that she was anti-gun. The senator proved to be a pretty good shot, but she still lost the election to Republican Jim Talent.
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Later, Carnahan received several standing ovations from fellow Democrats attending the Saturday brunch. Gov. Jay Nixon and Attorney General Chris Koster both publicly endorsed Carnahan's Senate bid, with the governor adding later that party leaders were united behind her candidacy.
The message: There will be no high-profile primary fight, as Republicans may have if former state Treasurer Sarah Steelman follows through with her threat to challenge the favored candidate of GOP leaders, U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Strafford.
Carnahan made no mention of her potential opponents in her brief brunch speech. In her remarks, as in her interview, she made a point of emphasizing her support for President Barack Obama's efforts to get the economy back on track.
Carnahan sidestepped whether she would have voted for the stimulus package approved by Congress, saying that she couldn't vouch for every spending item in the final version.
But Carnahan emphasized that she did support the Democrats' basic approach. When it came to deciding "to 'do something' or 'do nothing,' I would have been in the 'do something' camp,'' she said.
The brunch crowd applauded when Carnahan observed that when it came to the nation's economic health, "Failure is not an option."
